Greetings:

There have indeed been great periods of spiritual awakening in history. I have not personally studied how cyclical such periods are; but we know that the rise and development of ideas have almost always paralleled great spiritual movements. The progress of an age is almost always motivated by a process that begins by questioning the established authority of things. In the area of religion, we have found that whenever a society begins to lose faith in the faith system to which they subscribe, there is almost always a renaissance of spirital thought.

We seem to be moving into another period of spiritual searching. The evidence of this can be seen in the kind of books which are being purchased, the movie themes that are being produced, the topics of website hits on the major search engines, the re-surfacing of archaic  ceremonial forms, etc. While it is too early to tell, the recently expanding interest in a rather broad heading of "spiritual questing" could well result in another global spiritual awakening.  If it happens, everything changes.

To the extent that this energy is largely being fed by the Millennial  Generation, I think this is the group that should be targetted for membership by our Masonic leadership. Of course, we must make sure we give our new initiates an understanding of our allegories as they join and grow in Masonry...otherwise we risk losing the entire generation to other, more intuitive, esoteric disciplines.

Haha...I agree that pragmaticists tend to be an analytical lot; they don't convince very easily without hard facts in front of them. But there are also pragmatic philosophers-those who are concerned with values. One would find few PhD mathematicians who would not also agree there is such a thing as sacred geometry. It all has to do with how we interpret values, associations, and relationships. If one is not an atheist, he is thus inclined to consider speculative science. For this reason, I see no real challenge for pragmatics to be engaged in the interpretation of allegory systems.

As for the millennials, we have to connect them to men who really know and understand the speculative elements of Freemasonry. And these men are getting easier to locate because there are so many lists on the Internet whereby we can "find" each other. When I encounter younger men whom I consider to be "questers,", I usually refer them to some of these lists so they can start asking questions, learning, sharing, communicating, and growing in spiritual development and self improvement.

When this process becomes operative, the first engagement of the Entered Apprentice is met.      

Self and societal improvement is a serious undertaking and the essential mission of Freemasonry. Interpreting the allegories of Freemasonry is the traditional practice of lodge. This practice became diluted as the great lecturer period of ritual development emerged, beginning in the second half of the 18th Century. As various ritual workings from the European Continent found their place in the western expansion of Masonry in the Colonial period, a great emphasis was placed on standardizing the ritual. This movement consumed the whole of the 19th Century in America. The result has been a devotion to the language of the ritual, rather than to it's more important interpretations.

However, there have always those who have stayed with the foundational idea the Freemasonry is a system fo moral and ethical teachings that combine myth, ritual, and symbols to assist the individual on his path th personal and spiritual development. At the very beginning of the fraternal movement, men craved a form of expression which was not bound by church dogma and restrictions; a venue where men of all faiths could meet together to practice and study the Brotherhood of Man in a setting free from parochial rule. Within the mental fabric of its various interpretations, the study and philosophy of Masonry is the understanding of Truth.

The study takes place through our progressive system of ideas, by discussing what other people in other times have seen as true. We do this through the processes of myth, symbol and allegory. By comparing these allegorical lessons, and thinking about their associations in different parts of the world and in different traditions, we are able to arrive at an understanding of their force, their source, and possible universal synthesis. All of these themes, taken collectively, are of the human spirit, or psyche. They form a part of the collective unconscious; of matters which are fundamental to our understanding of ourselves and what is good for us to know. They engage us in the quest for a higher awareness.

Many men today are seeking venues for such study. It is thus imperative that we provide the instruction and the path of contemplation that will carry their life journey to a higher consciousness with God. This is work to be shared with others. Our success will always be determined by how we position ourselves at the center of man's need to be moral, at the heart of man's need for virtue, and at the helm of man's need to live right.

Solomonopoly:

You fall right in with the x'ers, being 27.  Typically, x'ers are thought of as extending up to 1984 dob.  There are of course cusps (variances from the rule), e.g. those x'ers who were brought up traditional parents.  We, the x'ers, were growing up when the oil boom went bust, companies filed while the employees were still buying stock, employees were getting canned before retirement for spurious reasons, religious leaders showed more vice than the patronage, and a hundred other failings of society.  

Here is an elaboration on my post.  If you compare and contrast the traditionalist with an x'er you really see some stark differences, some of which always caused debates in my household.  My parents believed that a person could get a job with a company and retire from that same company.  "Get in, work hard, and the company will take care of you".  X'ers, however, grew up during the period of "fired before retired", where company found it feasible to fire someone before they could collect the benefits of a long single career.  Most, and I say most, x'ers think in terms of 5-7 year terms of multiple careers, understanding full well that the company I start with will not be the one I end with.  

Our generation has also seen religious problems.  My parents did and believed because it is what you did.  No questions, just do it.  I remember hearing: "I don't care if you want to or not you need to go to church".  Our generation, however, has seen the fall of Swaggart and the PTL club, plus countless numbers of molestation charges against youth ministers and priest.  By and large we have a healthy skepticism for established religion that is different than that skepticism the boomers had - we are skeptics because we have seen it fail.  

The boomers saw the church, and companies for that matter, in terms of "I can't change it, it must be bad".  Each boomer had the idea of "if I don't like I'll change it", which was a huge conflict with traditionals.  Traditionals believed in the chain of command, do as you are told, etc.  Boomers go around the chain if necessary to accomplish their plans.

You may have heard of the "corporation fear issue".  Everybody is skeptical of big business - the evils of Wal-Mart and so on.  That is a commonality among both boomers and x'ers, but more prevalent in x'ers.  We are scared of the "to good to be true" aspects of life. This is not new.  Rationalism and the enlightenment were ages of distrust for conventional wisdom and blooming versions of skepticism.  Science superseded superstition, but we also lost faith during those periods.  Then came romanticism, where faith - a spiritual science - once again became prevalent.  Basically cyclical tides of objectivity and subjectivity.  Many of the things the Scottish Rite offers educationally , for instance Rosicrucianism, requires a bit of extensional faith, faith in older institutions, which x'ers tend to have a problem with.  Here is a for instance.  Masonic ritual contains many esoteric elements.  The fellowcraft (middle chamber lecture) is deep on many levels.  A strict attachment to the perfection of the ritual entices people to gloss over the deeper meanings.  X'ers may have a tendency to overlook some of the deeper meanings of Masonry, because of self/Masonic evaluation.  

In evaluation I mean: have you ever thought to yourself that this whole Masonic thing may be over inflated; that it is a glorified club to which those with nothing better to do have added all sorts of overly esoteric meanings?  Basically, questioning the reality of the fraternity.  This is a stage almost everyone goes through with any sort of participation process.  Kind of the "is it real" question.  While everyone is likely to experience a questioning period, x'ers are extremely prone to questioning; contrapositively we can see that traditionalists may have never asked this type of question.  The totality of my point is that we should focus our education systems, inside Masonry, to accommodate the various generational groups to be successful in retaining our members.  

Consequently, in answer to the question "is it real" I can offer only one proposition.  Men for ages have lived and practiced our art, they are some of the best and most delineated men of history.  Through these men society has been greatly benefited, so by induction alone it must be real - real to me.          

Solomonopoly:

I am glad you mentioned college, it reminded me of something.  In the good 'ol days people went to higher education (college) to become educated - what novel concept!  Now people go to college to get a good job (which rarely happens), have a 100k house, and a new car.  

Much of what plagues us in Masonry is materialistic thinking.  That is why, I believe, our membership is down in the fraternity.  In general, I feel that people want things out of life that are individually packaged and ready to go.  Like Christianity - go to church and pick up a package of spirituality and get back to the football game, etc.  Our membership lag in the fraternity is because Masonry does not come in a box; few philosophies (minus materialism) do.  Material thinkers can not see the forest for the trees in this case.

I had a fellow Mason get upset with me about the effort I spend in trying to teach the Cat lectures.  His thought was that we spend more time teaching lectures than taking care of Masonic "business" - (charity, youth groups, etc. - basically his definition of Masonic Business).  How foolish!  During the Cat lectures are the only time in two men's Masonic careers will they sit down and speak intently of the meanings of Masonry.  Granted some people get hung up on the "word perfectness" of the lectures and that is not what it is about.  This is time when we make Masons; when we explain the lectures and their meanings.  I have had great success with younger less material based individuals, their progress towards becoming Masons is a lot faster and better conceived.  By the end of their lectures, I have given all my knowledge of Masonry to them (which is not much) and they are ready to learn more.  I am not trying to pat myself on the back, gratuity should not be given for a job done like it is supposed to be.  However, I what to point out that it is not only younger people that do well.  I have an older gentleman, a boomer went bust, who has given up the materialistic myopia of the world.  He is not a quick learner of the ritual, but he understands it in a way I wish I could.  He sees it on a synergistic level - the interaction of mind, body, and spirit fit together in a path to conscious awakening.            

Your spiritual and/or membership revival is a conversion from the material into the spiritual - to those intangible things that Masonry excels at.  I also hope that it takes place.  But as a warning, I feel if there is a spiritual transition, the people experiencing the shift will be posed for domination by religious zealots.  Masonry has, and I hope always will be, at the forefront of enlightening men in not be taken advantage of by those who would rule through religion.

Personally, in regards to the necessity of Masonry and a possible revival, I am so glad that other Masons feel this way.  Our art has some very important lessons to teach mankind.  While it may be cliche to say important lessons, it is also concise, because the importance follows from the preserved secrecy of our teachings.  Everything we do, ritualistically, has a deep spiritual meaning and very superfluous physical meaning.  For example, the middle chamber lecture of the Fellowcraft.  The hidden meaning that can not be expressed is secret, not because we conceal it but rather because we can not reveal it - it is enlightenment and not applicable to words.  The average Mason is oblivious to the essence of the ritual and the deeper meanings.  My point here is that Masons like yourself who see the greater components of our institution have the key to starting the revival in situ - in inside the situation.  If you have friends that feel this way about the esoterics of Masonry, that is to say you that there is more to the Fraternity than hand shakes and funny words, you, as a group, will be the catalyst to start the revival inside the fraternity.  To cite a little from Bobg's wisdom, Masonry has to be prepared for a spiritual shift when the rest of society makes the move, to position ourselves in the forefront of contemporary men's views.        

Sorry for the late reply, but this is a topic that I have been studying quite a bit of late.  If anyone has taken a look at Strauss and Howe's generational theory, you are probably impressed with the amount of research and study that supports an idea of generational molds.  If you have not taken a look, check out some of the research at: http://www.lifecourse.com/

According to the research, the Millennial generation is a civicly minded generation akin to what is now called the Greatest Generation.  This generation tends to be a "joiner," which is why we may be seeing a slow but steady increase in the number of young initiates.  Gen Xer's, like myself, are not much of a joiner group but we are better than the Boomers about becoming active in organizations.  It is the Boomer generation that is more spiritually inclined; however, their spirituality is rarely of a traditional variety, which may be why we are seeing a resurgence of spiritual movements that are not connected with a traditional church movement.

More on this later, but for now suffice to say that I believe that history can be studied in terms of cyclical phenomenon so much that you can almost predict the future.    

(sigh).....we may be brothers, but we are also men. It is not easy for us to engage our attention long enough to become awakened to look into why things happen. It is far more exciting just to bump into stuff unaware.  :)